


A Journey to Remember

by BlackHawk323



Series: A Journey Beyond [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Diamond & Pearl & Platinum | Pokemon Diamond Pearl Platinum Versions
Genre: F/M, Male Friendship, POV Third Person, Pokemon Journey, Pokemon Platinum - Freeform, Shinoh-chihou | Sinnoh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-02
Updated: 2016-10-19
Packaged: 2018-02-27 19:41:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2704220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackHawk323/pseuds/BlackHawk323
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a girl buys a strange version of Pokemon Platinum at the town fair, she gets the brilliant idea to try and hack it. What happens next is a little... interesting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Where the Hell am I?

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Am I Supposed to Call This Home?](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/85814) by Luxbunny. 



Chapter 1 Where the Hell am I? 

_ Now days all the kids want crazy/ wanna diagnose themselves  _

_ Trade up made-up epidemics/ pass around prescription pills _

    Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock… A young girl eyed the clock hanging above the teacher’s desk impatiently, her leg bouncing up and down beneath her desk as she rested her chin on her hand, her eyes transfixed on the clock as she listened to the teacher drone on and one. Her eyes vacant whenever she occasionally glanced down just so she could keep track of what was going on. She had dark brown hair and startlingly green eyes, traits of unknown origin no amount of biology had managed to trace the source of. Her hair was so long it nearly reached down to her waist, only stopping about half an inch above where it would inevitably end up. It cascaded down her back like a dark brown waterfall and was swept over the back of her chair, shining in the light provided by the hospital-room-like lights that illuminated the room. She was wearing a green t-shirt and a pair of light blue jeans. She tapped the index finger of her left hand, the hand that held up her head, on her chin as she continued to watch the clock with similar intensity that a cat would watch a mouse. Her impatience was courtesy to a fair that was going on in her town. This fair was only held once a year, and she had missed it the last time. This year the stock provided by the shops was reported to be very different from the bows and little knick-knacks that was sold in the years past. This year the stock was supposedly in video games and the systems required to play them. Legend had it that one of the other kids in her town had been sucked into one of these games, although she didn’t know if the kid had gotten back out or not, nor did she care. “Why hello there, Porter,” A smooth-talking boy not much older than the aformentioned girl sauntered up to her desk, planting his hand on it as he leaned in. A cocky grin on his face as he looked at her. The teacher having told the kids to begin packing up as the clock wound down to the final seconds. Disgusting maggot. He thinks he’s Arceus’s gift to women doesn’t he? The girl thought, using the name of the God present in one of the longer-lasting game franchises she had played over the years. “What do you want this time, Colin?” she asked, obviously both annoyed and bored him as she kept watching the clock, silently counting down the seconds before she would be released. “You already know what I want. Money. Now.” “No can do, jerkwad. You took the last of my money yesterday remember?” She replied, grabbing her bag from beside her as she stood up, calmly slinging it over her shoulder as she began walking to the door, the bell ringing shortly after the added: “Now if you excuse me, I have actual places to be.”

* * *

 

 

   By the time Porter got to the fair, most of the rides were occupied and several of the shops had been sold out. All except for one it seemed, although it wasn’t surprising based on the vendor’s appearance. The vendor was an elderly lady who was obviously far past her expiration date. She had a glass eye and her hair was knotted and frayed, her teeth yellow and rotting as she smiled at Porter as the girl approached the stall. “What can I do for you young lady?” The old woman asked, motioning towards the several plastic tubs in front of her. In the tubs were all sorts of things, hair ties, gold necklaces, rings, combs, brushes, and a few old gaming systems. However, what caught the young girl’s eye almost immediately was a strangely-colored copy of Pokemon Platinum. The colors on the pokemon displayed on the game cartridge were the complete opposite of what was normal, and as such Porter reached down and picked it up. Her thumb rubbed across the surface of the game, and she looked up at the old woman, who had her eyes closed and was still smiling at Porter as she spoke. “How much for this?” The old woman opened her eyes, which flickered a darker color as she noticed the game in The Girl’s hand. “You can have that for free, sweety. I was going to just throw it out.” She said, to which The Girl nodded before she pocketed it. Muttering her thanks, she scurried home, unlocking the door in excitement and walking into the empty house. It was always empty. Her parents were almost never home, and as such barely noticed her presence. Were it not for video games, she would be completely bored. “Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong world.” The Girl muttered, grabbing the appropriate gaming system off the table before placing the strange version of Platinum into the system, turning it on and starting up the game immediately afterwards. Smiling as the title screen greeted her, her hand reaching over to turn up the music. Nothing seems to be wrong with it so far, she thought as she pressed a button and moved past the title screen. Pressing another button, she selected ‘New Game’ from the menu, and was greeted by two options. ‘Play Normal Story’ and ‘Play Bonus Story’. Bonus Story? Definitely hacked, but I guess it wouldn’t hurt to see what it is, she thought, selecting the Bonus Story from the menu. Everything beyond that point seemed to be the same as what she was used to from older Pokemon games, same generic introduction and character naming. When she was prompted to choose her character name, The Girl quickly typed in ‘Mizu’. After confirming her choice of name, she was greeted by the game’s most recognizable line. ‘Your very own adventure is about to unfold!’ Strange. Never realized that those were bolded, Mizu thought as the screen blacked out and soon revealed her to be starting out in her room. She quickly opened up the in-game menu before retrieving a small slip of paper from her back left pocket. Time to see if this cheat actually works, she thought pressing the appropriate buttons before exiting the menu. Upon doing this however, the screen promptly went black. “You gotta be fucking kidding me,” Mizu said as she smacked the side of the handheld system. Soon after she did this words began to appear, and they seemed to glow beyond the blackness behind them.

**You dare to cheat a world so wonderous? You are not God, so don’t act like it.**

**However, you most likely think this is some sort of trick. So how about I just deal out your punishment now?**

Punishment? Mizu thought shortly before she was wrapped in darkness, blinking a few times as she stared out into the black around her. Closing her eyes again, she opened them up to be greeted with a ceiling. Was it all a dream? She thought, putting a hand up to her head as she sat up. Her eyes closed as she pondered her own question. After deciding that it wasn’t worth thinking about she slipped out of bed, her feet landing on carpet. Wait… carpet? Mizu thought, her eyes snapping open as she turned her gaze downwards, There isn’t any carpet in my house. Where the hell am I? “Mizu, sister dearest? Are you awake yet? I’ve got to go so I can get back to Sunyshore in time to open up the gym,” a male voice called from outside her door. “I won’t be coming back you know. I’ll just be waiting for you there for when you come to challenge me, Kain and Zephyroth are downstairs waiting for you to get down there,” He added. “Uh, Okay!” Mizu replied, not quite sure of who this guy was. Although considering that he mentioned the Sunyshore Gym… Mizu snapped her fingers in accomplishment. Volkner! That’s who he is! But he said something about me being his sister… WAIT A MINUTE! Mizu thought, her eyes widening as the pieces clicked into place. This is… I’m inside the game. How is this even possible? She thought, running her hands through her hair as she processed the information presented to her. Had to have something to do with those words. Is this what whoever-it-was meant by ‘punishment’? She was pacing now. Volkner had long since left the house, and it was about half an hour afterwards that Mizu finally calmed down enough to open the door to the hallway. There was once door directly across the hall from her own, and to her left a staircase could be seen a few feet away. Glancing back into her room, Mizu noticed a black and yellow backpack that was only half packed. Walking over to it, she found a small journal lying nearby. She picked it up before slowly opening it to the first page and reading the contents.

**Entry 1**

_I’m so excited! After so long I finally get to go on an adventure of my own! My brother is leaving to go back to Sunyshore in the morning, which will leave me alone with Kain and Zephyroth until I get everything packed. Afterwards I plan on heading out to the next city. I can only hope we don’t hit any snags. The only thing that worries me right now is how my battle with Rorke is going to go. The last time someone got his badge was about 10 years ago when Lucas got it. Since then he’s gone undefeated. This might be the last time in a while that I write. I’m so happy that Volkner finally decided to buy me another journal after I filled up the last one with drawings. That’s it for now, I’ll be taking this with me on my journey. Along with a little something extra._

Mizu closed the journal, and sat on her knees. Her eyes looking around at the neat pile of clothing and other necessities that were all piled near the backpack. She slowly walked over to them before finishing up the half-finished packing that had been started by whoever had been in her place before. After she had put everything into the backpack, she checked each pocket one more time to make sure she had everything. Upon unzipping the front-most pocket however, her face turned a bright red before the quickly zipped it back up. Note to self, NEVER unzip that pocket with other people around. No one needs to see _that_. Mizu thought, fighting her blush down as she looked over to her dresser and then at the door to her bedroom. After a moment’s worth of arguing with herself, she stood up and closed the door before walking back over to the dresser. She opened the top drawer and pulled out a black t-shirt and putting it on over her white bra. Closing that drawer, she opened up a few more before finding the one she was looking for. Skirts, skirts, skirts, and more fucking skirts. Holy hell did I wear anything but skirts in this universe? Mizu thought, picking one at random and putting it on. Although it IS kinda cute, she thought in a slightly quieter voice before she closed that drawer and opened the one above it. After she had put on a pair of socks she padded back over to the backpack and picked it up before walking over to the door. Opening it, she walked through and glanced back. Knowing that she might never see that room again, she closed the door behind her and walked down the stairs. When Mizu reached the bottom of the stairs, she was greeted by two hyperactive Shinx. Shiny Shinx to be exact. Both of them. The one on the right had a small yellow dot just under its left eye, and seemed to respond rather profoundly whenever Mizu said ‘Kain’. Which left the other one as Zephyroth. They. Are. So. CUTE! Mizu squealed internally, unable to keep herself from squatting down and petting the two pokemon as she looked around the room. From where she was standing, she seemed to be on the edge of the dining room. To the left was the living room, complete with a large TV and very comfortable-looking sofa. To her right was the dining room itself, a large wooden table surrounded by about 6 chairs of the same material. The kitchen resided just past the dining room, and seemed to go hand in hand with the open concept of the house. Atop one of the counters rested two pokeballs. Picking them both up, Mizu instinctually returned her two pokemon before clipping their pokeballs to her belt. Walking over to the front door, her backpack still slung over her shoulder, Mizu slipped on a pair of shoes before glancing back around at the house behind her. Guess I have no choice but to go along with this. I just hope that I can get back home soon, She thought as she opened the door and stepped out. The door shutting firmly behind her, signaling the start of her journey.

 

**Author's Note:**

**Hello there! Thank you for reading to the end of Chapter 1. Please leave me a comment for suggestions and the like, as this is my first story in quite a while. As the rating (and the mysterious item in the front pocket) might suggest, this story will get quite 'interesting' as it progresses. You won't have to wait very long however. Chapter 2 is already typed up and ready to go!**

 

**The song at the beginning is 'Hope of Morning' by Icon for Hire. Expect to see song lyrics on every chapter.**


	2. On My Way

_Chapter 2_

_On My Way_

_You wanna try/ to take me under/ I’ll never bow ‘till I’m 6 feet under_

_Listen to the sound of rolling thunder_

_You can’t take me_

_You’ll never break me down_

The sun was blinding as Mizu stepped out of the house, although it soon became fairly obvious as to where she was: Twinleaf Town. The same place that the character starts out in the games. Based on the entry she found in the journal, the current universe she was in was set about a decade after the games. Despite this, not much about the town had changed. True the town was far bigger than the games made it seem, but the general layout of it wasn’t too much different. It turned out the house she was in moments before was one of the newer buildings, as she soon found out that she was in the southernmost part of the small town.

 _This is amazing,_ Mizu thought as she looked around, _the games really didn’t do this town justice._

Her gaze wandered to the north, and she stared out behind her house to find the entryway to the first route she would be travelling on. She began walking towards it, one yellow sneaker in front of the other. There was a slight breeze in the air, although not nearly enough to flip her skirt up. Which was perfectly fine by her, in fact it was exactly what she had hoped for.

 _The last thing I want is to be oogled by some creep,_ Mizu shivered as she threw a frantic look around her. Seeing that she was the only one outside, she let out a breath that she didn’t know she was holding.

Realizing that she had stopped moving, Mizu began walking towards the entry to the first route once more. After a couple minutes, during which she had complained about how unbearably big Twinleaf was, she arrived at the very edge of the route. She lifted her gaze from the ground and stared forward, groaning in frustration as she saw how long the entry itself was.

 _I need company,_ she thought, her hands reaching down to the two pokeballs strapped to her belt as she began walking. She gently unclipped the spheres from her belt before tapping the button on each one twice, releasing the two Shinx that resided within them. The two pokemon slowly took shape, the white beam that released them fading away as quickly as it had come. The two pokemon ecstatically jumped on their feet saying their species name as they ran up to Mizu, who smiled down at them as she continued walking.

After about half an hour of walking, Mizu finally saw what looked to be the end of the entry to the route, although based on the amount of time she had spent she couldn’t be too sure. She continued to walk towards it, Kain and Zephyroth loyally trotting alongside her. The two Shinx had calmed down quite a bit after the first few minutes, and sometimes stopped in order to stare at something. Nevertheless, they never left Mizu’s side for more than a few seconds at a time.

As luck would have it, Mizu had indeed found the rest of the route, and she breathed a sigh of relief at the sight.

“I thought that would never end!” She shouted, her voice bouncing off of the trees and sending a flock of Starly into the air. Placing a hand on her mouth, Mizu sent a glance around her as she watched the flock out of the corner of her eye. She still hadn’t figured out what she was doing here beyond that it was supposedly her ‘punishment’. Despite this, she hadn’t let it get her down and had continued to trek on. Turning her gaze left, Mizu closed her eyes in an attempt to recall how the map was set up.

 _So… to my right is the rest of the route leading to Sandgem Town. To my left would be one of the ponds with that cave in the center. What was it’s name again?_ Mizu thought, although after a few seconds without coming up with anything she quickly gave up. Walking forwards, she quickly turned left and started to trek near the lake. A little ways into her journey, she heard a rustle in the grass nearby. She shrieked, jumping back away from the sound before realizing how foolish she must’ve looked.

 _It’s just a Pokemon, Mizu. Stop overreacting._ Great. Now she was referring to herself by the name she possessed in this world. Although she vaguely wondered what her last name was, as she had forgot to check what the wording on the mailbox next to her house had read. Although at this point she was beginning to wonder if it wasn’t a vacation home or something.

After calming down from her initial shock, Mizu inched closer to where she had heard the sound. Kain and Zephyroth trotting back up to her after staring at something in the woods.

After the two Pokemon turned their gazes to where the Mizu was staring, the two Pokemon growled. Electricity arcing along their fur as they bared their teeth at the being in the bushes.

The noise apparently startled whatever was lurking in the bushes, as they rattled once more before the creature scurried away. The bushes rattling as it ran away, Kain and Zephyroth running into the brush in pursuit.

“Hey! Get back here you two!” Mizu shouted as she ran after her pokemon. The two Shinx were still in hot pursuit of the creature, who didn’t seem to be portraying any signs of exhaustion. Despite this the pursuit had only lasted a few minutes, as Kain had begun sparking rapidly before being engulfed by electricity. The Shinx growled as it began to run faster before colliding with the object, which turned out to be another trainer by the glimpse Mizu was provided when Zephyroth tackled the person out of the brush.

He was dressed in what Mizu would have expected a Bug Catcher to wear, some sort of tan overcoat and a bug net in his hand, although at this point it was a little bit away from his hand as he was on the ground. Mizu ran over to him as he picked himself up from the ground, and she hastily offered to help him up.

“It’s okay. I’m fine, really,” He said, brushing himself off as she straightened up. “There is no need for you to worry. I’ve been through worse.”

“You sure? It looks like you got a pretty big shock,” Mizu asked, her hands clasped together as she worried over the boy in front of her. However, when he finally lifted his eyes to look at her it seemed that he had a bit of trouble responding.

“H-honestly I’m f-fine. Really,” He stuttered, his face turning a light shade of red as he spoke. Kain and Zephyroth trotted over to Mizu, who leaned down and petted them gently when they returned to her. It wasn’t their fault, they were only following their instincts.

“If you’re hurt and you’re not telling me, there _will_ be consequences. I can assure you that,” Mizu threatened, closing her eyes as she finally gave up worrying over the Bug Catcher.

“I guess it’s time for introductions isn’t it?” Mizu asked, holding out her hand hesitantly to the boy her pokemon just shocked. “My name is Mizu,” She introduced, pausing shortly before saying her name.

“Phil,” the boy replied, slowly standing up and accepting Mizu’s handshake.

“Its nice to meet you.”

That night the two newly acquainted trainers set up camp a good distance away from the lake.

“So… You just started your journey huh? Guess it’s a good thing this portion of the route is so short,” Phil said, his elbows resting on his knees as he sat on a log. Kain and Zephyroth were munching on some food Mizu had found in her backpack, and Phil had let his own pokemon out to enjoy the scenery. In total he only had a Caterpie and a Weedle.

“Wait, this is short for a route?” Mizu burst out, receiving a raised eyebrow from Phil as he nodded slowly. She had nearly dropped her food when he had said that, and as such she was silently wondering how long the routes actually were. Considering that several routes in the Sinnoh region were gruelingly long in the games.

 _Yup. I’m screwed,_ Mizu thought as she sighed. Bidding Phil good night before spreading out a sleeping bag and crawling into it. She barely heard Phil remark about her looking like a Caterpie before finally falling asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See? Told you I had the other. Unfortunately this will be it for a little while, as I have to type out Chapter 3. Feedback is much appreciated. Cya in the next chapter! Song at the start is "Down" by Thousand Foot Krutch


	3. Lake Verity

_Carnivore/ Carnivore_

_Won’t you come and change me_

_Take away everything I am_

Mizu’s dreams that night were not pleasant in the slightest.

It started off just fine, with her walking through a forest and gazing up at the trees around her. A gentle wind brushing over everything, although there wasn’t any chill to it, or really anything to point out it was there aside from the gentle swaying of the trees around her. She wandered down a well-beaten path that lay in front of her idly, unaware of what she was searching for even what she was doing, and it became slowly apparent to her that she was lost.

 _What am I doing?_ She thought to herself as she kicked a rock off from the path into the surrounding brush. The resulting thud starled a flock of Spearow and sent them flapping up into the air. Mizu smiled softly before she resumed her walk, stuffing her hands into her pockets as she continued to wander around aimlessly. Humming a song that came to her mind she came across a small wooden bridge that crossed over a pond, the flickering moonlight streamed down uninhibited in this place, and Mizu stopped for a moment to gaze into the water.

 _Strange… When did I get that scar?_ She thought quizzically as she reached a hand up to gently prod the spot on her cheek where she had spotted a thin, jagged red scar that bisected the bottom of her ear down to her chin only to find the skin perfectly smooth. She glanced up from the water to survey her surroundings before she looked back into the water to be met with a rather nightmarish image.Staring back at her was a creature she had hoped to leave behind her for good, but had awoken once more when she had been plunged into this world. It stared at her with a grim smirk, and was twirling a small red stylus in one hand. 

Mizu took a deep breath before looking up from the pond, her eyes set in determination before she let it out, the air shaking slightly as she turned on her heel to continue walking. She knew that everyone had a dark side of them, but she had come face to face with hers too often to count. It was that side of her that refused to lose no matter the cost.

It was the side of her that was the most threatening in this world. The side that would most likely aid in the unneccesary death of those she pushed too far. It had caused her to lose enough friends already. She glanced into the trees as she walked, but this time noticed the small pinpricks of light that could only be a pair of eyes watching her from the darkness. She was beginning to hate this place, and sped up her pace in an attempt to get further away from the pond.

A few minutes of rapid speed-walking passed, and Mizu stopped to catch her breath. However, when she looked up she found herself back at that very same pond, the bridge now appearing to be slightly more worn than it had the last time. She sighed loudly and walked onto the bridge, daring to look into the water once more to find yet another scar. This one just above her left eyebrow. She closed her eyes sadly as a few select memories came back to her. Memories of the old world, where her competitive streak had left her without friends. She touched the place the scar marred gingerly, only to find that it too was just an illusion instead of a physical feature. She sighed once more as she lowered her hand down, and closed her eyes briefly as she turned to the other side of the bridge.

 

When Mizu opened her eyes once more, she found herself staring up at the early morning sky, with a low fire crackling on its final embers a short distance away from her. She blinked a few times before letting out a small groan and rolling onto her side. _What was that?_ She thought to herself as she toyed with a blade of grass in the half-light provided by the rising sun. Kain was passed out near the fire, and Zephyroth was curled up a short distance away from Mizu. She smiled to herself before slowly pushing herself up off of the ground. She glanced around the small haphazard camp to find that Phil had disappeared. His sleeping bag was rolled up and set neatly next to the dying campfire next to his bag, but he himself was nowhere to be found.

 _Well then… Guess he’s gone off somewhere,_ Mizu thought instinctively before she turned her gaze to stare off into the fire. Her thoughts drifted towards the dream she had just woken up from, and then to thoughts of home.

 _It’s strange. It feels more natural to be here than it did to be sitting around in my living room playing the games. It’s almost as if I belong here,_ She thought calmly as the embers glowed weakly. _I almost don’t want to go home._ She let out another small sigh before slowly slipping out of the sleeping bag, careful to not wake either of the sleeping Shinx as she officially went about to start her day.

She walked over to where her backpack lay next to one of the nearby trees and rifled through the contents, taking care not to accidentally open the front-most pocket if she didn’t need to. _Where is it, where is it,_ She thought as she rummaged around in the bag, finally grabbing hold of a small handle and pulling out a yellow hairbrush. _I certainly like yellow don’t I?_ She thought to herself before running the brush through her hair. The various sounds of early morning surrounding her as a flock of Pidgey erupted from the trees a good ways away as Mizu ran the brush through her hair for the dozenth time. The glanced over at the birds before smiling and putting the brush back into her bag.

 _Guess that answers that question._ She rolled her eyes before zipping up her bag and putting it on. She groaned in frustration as she looked over at the direction a disgruntled Phil was emerging from the trees with twigs in his hair, and resolved to buy a proper pair of pajamas as soon as they reached a town. Caterpie was attached rather firmly to Phil’s leg, and Weedle was curled up around his arm like a sort of giant bug sleeve. The boy’s net was torn in several places, although it still appeared to be usable.

“Looks like you had fun,” Mizu teased as Phil walked past her. He grunted in acknowledgement before slowly and gently prying Caterpie off of his leg, and then Weedle off of his arm. Moments later he was shoveling dirt out of his mouth before he looked over to Mizu, who was repressing both a disgusted expression and an urge to laugh at her companion’s misfortune.

“Oh I did… believe me,” Phil replied sarcastically as he picked up his own bag and put it on, the single strap resting on the shoulder opposite the hip it was resting on. Mizu smiled at him before she walked over and gently poked the sleeping creatures that lay dormant near the fire, which had all but died out by this point to be replaced with the sun.

“Come on, guys. It’s time to go,” She cooed as the two Shinx stirred from their slumber. Rather comically, Mizu got two different reactions. Zephyroth slowly stood up and padded over to her, while Kain just opened an eye before rolling over and falling back asleep much to Phil’s amusement.

“Stop laughing,” Mizu said as she poked Kain again, harder this time. “Come on, lazy. You’ll have to get up sooner or later,” She said to him. The small creature growled in a manner similar to frustrated grumbling as it slowly got up and padded over to glare at Zephyroth. The other Shinx responding with a confused look as they took their usual positions on either side of Mizu as they walked. Mizu looked up at the brightening sky as they walked the rest of the way to the lake.

“So what happened to cause you to startle all those Pidgey?” She asked Phil quizically, the Bug Cather’s face reddening slightly as Mizu brought up the events that had transpired earlier in the morning. Phil chuckled softly and reached a hand up to scratch behind his ear. 

“I was trying to catch a Cascoon, and I guess I musta startled the nearby flock when I tripped,” He replied as they walked. Mizu made a mental note of just how long this part of the route was, and had gotten up to about 3 hours before they finally reached the small area that comprised of the lake’s entrance. A large billboard stood next to the small entrance in the trees, proclaiming that the island had recently undergone some rehabilitaion, but that it was now open for tourists to come visit.

“Here we are,” Phil said after several minutes of the pair just standing in front of the billboard, “Lake Verity.”

Mizu nodded before taking a slow step forward, as if afraid the path was going to lengthen once more. After convincing herself that the distance was easily crossable in the span of a minute, she took in a breath before walking through the entrance. Phil following behind her after a few moments of questioning what she was doing.

 _The games didn’t do ANYTHING justice did they?_ Mizu thought upon stepping past the threshold to see the lake in its full glory. The sun, now much higher and painting the sky a deep blue, glittered down onto the water and causing the reflected light to make the lake appear as if it was comprised out of crystal instead of water. Mizu found herself breathless as she walked to the very edge of the grass-covered outcropping she and Phil were standing on in order to get a better view.

A cool breeze lazily drifted through the air as the sounds of water floated up to her from the lake proper, and Mizu could see several different species of flying-type Pokemon flying across the lake, as well as an uncountable number of water Pokemon hiding just under the surface. In the middle of the lake sat a small island, now much greener than the games had made it seem. There were several flower patches on the island afar as well as in the gernal vicinity of Mizu of Pete, and one could even see a small tree growing on the island.

On her right side Mizu could see a small building that most likely was the Pokemon Ranger outpost for the lake, evident by the homey look it had as well as the single person that could be seen through the windows. Kain and Zephyroth had taken to jumping around in the flowers. Well… Zephyroth at least, as Mizu found Kain curled up in a flower patch fast asleep. Caterpie was found _eating_ several flowers, and both Phil and Mizu spent several minutes attempting to find Weedle only to realize that he had wormed his way up into a tree and was eating leaves.

 _Better the leaves than those poor flowers,_ Mizu thought solemnly as she turned to look behind her at Caterpie, who was still chewing on the flowers at a rather fast pace for such a small creature.

After herding their Pokemon into one large group, Mizu and Phil decided to pay a visit to the Ranger outpost and say hi, just to let the person inside know that they had come by to get a view at the lake. It was just general courtesy, and as such they only stayed long enough to remark on how wonderful the lake looked, say hi to the various Pokemon inside the building, and walk back out into the crisp, moist air.

 _It might not have gotten me any clsoer to home, but it certainly was worth it,_ Mizu thought as a small pang of homesickness struck. Turning to Phil, she nodded and the pair went to locate their Pokemon. They found the group in mostly the same place, save for that Kain was sleeping again.

After awakening Kain, Mizu and Phil rounded up the rest of their party and began to walk back to the entrance with a mixture of happiness that their journey was officially beginning, and sadness that they had to leave such an amazing sight. Before crossing the threshold back onto the route, Mizu spared Lake Verity one last glance before she left.

_I wonder if I’ll ever come back here._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! Chapter 3!  
> Song at the beginning is Carnivore by Starset


	4. Childhood Friends

_Chapter 4_

_\--Childhood Friends--_

_You and I; We share the same disease_  
_Cover up; Compromise what we grieve_  
_I’ve let more than my share of revivals die_  
_This isn’t pretty but it’s what I am tonight_

“Finally, we’re here!” Mizu cried out as she dropped to her knees in front of Sandgem Town. She and Phil had spent an entire four days walking from Lake Verity to the town known for the Professor’s lab, and Mizu’s legs hurt so badly she felt as if she was going to collapse at any moment. Kain and Zephyroth trotted up to her merrily, and Mizu noticed that they hadn’t seemed to mind the overly long distance from Verity to Sandgem.

“You sound as if that’s the longest you’ve ever walked,” Phil said, looking as her calmly with a small smile on his face and his net resting on his shoulder. During one of their more recent camps he had manage to repair a few of the holes in it so that it was in far better shape than it had been when they had first arrived at Lake Verity. Caterpie was, of course, attached to its trainer’s leg, and Weedle was still on the ground. “Come on. We’ve still got a little further to walk before we get to the Lab,” Phil said, causing Mizu to groan in a mixture of pain and frustration before she tilted forward and fell face-first on the ground.

“Can’t you just let me lay here?” She moaned into the dirt, exhaustion seeping in through every pore of her body as she desperately hoped he would comply with her wish. Phil chuckled and rolled his eyes before gently poking her in to side with his shoe. Mizu batted it away weakly with her left hand before letting the aforementioned appendage fall to the dirt with a thud.

“You can’t lay there forever, Mizu. Other trainers might come in from that direction, and I sincerely doubt anyone is going to just let you lay around like that,” Phil said, nudging her once more as he spoke and elicting another pained groan from his companion.

“Ugh… Fine,” Mizu replied, pushing herself up from the ground slowly and painfully before she brushed herself off. In hindsight she realized that she could’ve ripped her clothing in that fall. _Note to self, be careful when falling. Last thing I want is to rip my clothing in an area will something will actually show,_ Mizu thought to herself as she followed Phil further into Sandgem Town.

As seemed to be the general case, the town itself was much bigger than the games made it seem. In the games there was only a Pokemon Center, PokeMart, two houses and the professor’s lab, but in reality Sandgem Town was a fairly large town. There were several markets that sold a variety of food, a used video-game store, entire neighborhoods of houses, and the Lab was more in the center of the town then it was in the games.

 _I’ve come to the conclusion that the games should not be used to compare,_ Mizu thought silently as she and Phil made their way through the town. There were so many different trainers as one got closer to the Lab, each wearing different outfits and each one conversing with their own companions.

And while Mizu had seen plenty of wierd attire from all the anime she habitually watched back in the real world, she caught a glimpse of someone dressed in attire completely unlike the social norm for trainers in this world.

Over by one of the fruit carts, possibly the only one that sold watermelons, a young girl a little bit shorter than Mizu was talking to the shopkeeper. Her attire was rather eccentric for where she was, as she was dressed in a pink witch’s outfit. Complete with the wizard hat and everything. Mizu caught a glimpse of pink hair as well when the girl tilted her head slightly, and Mizu could’ve sworn there was a watermelon in the strange girl’s arms.

She had an irrestistible urge to flee the scene right then, but Phil was talking to someone he had apparently gone bug hunting with, and was so deep in conversation that Mizu thought it would be rude to interrupt. Instead she opted to face the opposite direction from the girl and hope she didn’t notice her.

 _Wait… why am I hiding from someone I’ve never met?_ Mizu thought suddenly before turning around to glance at the girl.

The two locked eyes, and Mizu had the off-topic thought about how the girl looked strangely similar to the fruit she was holding in her arms. The girl’s dark green eyes locked in with Mizu’s, and there was a spark of recognition from her as they stared at each other.

Suddenly the girl burst out, “Mizu!” and sprinted towards the aforementioned girl, who was completely caught of guard and had no idea what was going on.

“Wh-AAH!” Mizu shouted, astonished by the strength the small girl had demonstrated in bringing them both to the ground. The watermelon remained unharmed, and was somehow lying on the ground next to where they had fallen. Long pink hair pooled out from the other girl’s head as they fell, and the girl immediately popped her head back up off of Mizu’s chest. The other girl’s face was flushed, but she was otherwise in a rather cheery mood.

“I found you!” She exclaimed, and Mizu couldn’t help but think that the other girl was more or less like a little kid, despite seeming to be around the same age as her. Up close it was evident that this girl was quite the eccentric type, as she had a small watermelon stitched into the right breast of her robes, and had a small staff strapped to her back.

“Uhmm… Who are you?” Mizu replied, raising a single eyebrow for emphasis on her confusion. The other girl seemed geniunely shocked, and maybe would’ve even appeared to be hurt had it not been for the strange shape of her pupils that Mizu noticed in that moment.

 _She’s just one big ball of oddities isn’t she?_ Mizu thought as the other girl pouted.

“I can’t believe you forgot about me!” was the response given, although it was quickly remedied with, “It’s Nae, remember?”

Mizu nodded in the hopes that the girl would stop talking.

“Cool,” Nae replied, jumping off of Mizu and helping her to her feet before smiling, “then I guess you remember how you promised to let me travel with you?” Nae said, causing Mizu to completely come to a halt in her thoughts as she mentally rewound the conversation to make sure she hadn’t heard anything from another group. After mentally cursing her ‘rotten luck’ Mizu slowly nodded, causing Nae to happily clap her hands together in excitement.

“Yay! I’m judging you haven’t gotten your Pokedex yet though. The Professor’s lab is just over there,” Nae said, pointing a finger to a large concrete building a short distance away, “I have to warn you though. This new guy is a bit wierd.”

 _Even her nail polish is pink,_ Mizu noted, barely hearing the part about the Professor being wierd as she nodded and dragged a curious Phil into the Lab, much to the boy’s protest at being handled in such an off-handed way. Once inside they found themselves in a library of sorts, with various sounds of equipment rattling as well as numerous shouts and crazed mumbling radiating from the back-most room.

As the pair crept through the halls towards the sounds, they felt a slow chill crawl up their spines as they slowly emerged into the main lab to find a man. He was most likely in his early twenties, with the classic lab coat on as well. He had shaggy brown hair and silver eyes, and would’ve been considered quite handsome if it weren’t for the dangerous and intelligent gleam in them, and the disheveled nature of the hair revealing that it wasn’t a clever style he woke up with. He had a thin layer of stubble growing on his face, and he was bent over what looked to be a dead Pokemon of some sort.

It took him a few seconds to realize they had entered the room, but once he did he turned around, pushed his glasses farther up his nose, and introduced himself curtly.

“My name is Professor Hawthorn, the Pokedexes you are most likely here to procure from me are on the table over there. Now if you excuse me, I have some very important research to get back to,” he said, pointing to a small table piled high with the famed objects before he went back to poking holes in the carcass with needles and scalpels. 

“Uh… alright then,” Mizu mumbled quietly. _Not much for words I guess, not that I really want to learn much more about him._

In all honesty it gave Mizu a rather strong sense of discomfort, and as such she took four quick strides over to the table, grabbed a Pokedex for both herself and Phil, and strode the four strides back to the door before trying her hardest not to seem as though she was in too much of a hurry to get out of there.

When they emerged back into broad daylight, Mizu let out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding before she realized that Nae was there as well.

“That was fast,” Nae noted simply as she stared up at Mizu. The girl’s eyes certainly were strange. As mentioned before, she had rather oddly shaped pupils, ones that were in the shape of a small star instead of the usual elliptical shape most eyes generally seemed to hold. Mizu found herself leaning a bit back from the girl while casting a glance to either side of her in an attempt to locate her other, less strange companion.

She found him standing a few yards away with a few other trainers, presumably talking to them about some event or whatever judging by how one of them was holding up a poster. The text along the top was big enough that Mizu could identify it as a poster for a Pokemon Contest that was supposedly going to occur within the upcoming month. As expected though, it was to be held in Hearthome City, which wasn’t exactly going to be a short hop from what Mizu had experienced.

 _Oh god… Snowpoint,_ Mizu paled at the realization. The route up to Snowpoint had been one of the longest ones in the game, and the weather itself would probably slow them down a fair bit. 

_If I somehow survive this I’ll be shocked._

Mizu was brought back to reality by a sharp poke to her stomach, and refocused her gaze to see that Nae was pressing her staff into Mizu’s stomach. “Are you even listening?” she said indignantly. Nae sighed before turning and following Mizu’s gaze. “So, are you just going to stare at him or are you actually going to give him that Pokedex so we can get out of here?” The tone which the girl spoke with now was a bit darker, more mature, almost as if she’d turned herself into an entirely different person while Mizu had been preoccupied.

“Ah, yea. Thanks for the reminder,” Mizu responded, and she actually meant it. Collecting herself, she walked over to where Phil was having his own rather in-depth conversation with the other two trainers, and tapped him lightly on the shoulder as she drew out the Pokedex she’d gotten for him.

“This one’s for you,” she said with a slight smile as Phil turned around to greet her. His expression seemed to get a fair bit more cheerful when he was met with the psuedo-present that Mizu had acquired for him.

“Thanks, Mizu. I guess that means we’re heading out then?” He asked her, casting his gaze around in an attempt to locate Caterpie and Weedle. With what she’d witnessed already, Mizu had a fair guess that the two bugs could be found wherever Kain and Zephyroth were. She nodded in response to his question as Nae popped up next to her.

“Yay! Let’s get going then!” the girl exclaimed happily as she took out one of her own Pokeballs. “Sana, it’s time to get going!” she shouted, tossing the ball into the air moments before it exploded to release the creature that was inside. When the white energy finally took form Mizu had to blink a few times to make sure she was seeing correctly. Standing before her was a Ponyta, and a few moments later it whinnied with that seemed to be a bit of joy as Nae vaulted into its back, holding her staff as though she was some sort of knight with it extended diagonally in front of her.

Mizu wasn’t the least bit surprised when Nae began to shout “Onward my brothers!” as loud as she possibly seemed to be able to. As could be expected, both Phil and Mizu let out a slight sigh before they were both bombarded with affection from their own Pokemon. It seemed as though the four of them had been able to see that they were getting ready to leave.

Phil bade goodbye to his conversational partners, promising that he’d try and see about getting to Hearthome at some point for a Contest, but that he’d probably not make it to that particular one. The road to Hearthome was a rather long one, if Mizu were to use the past few days’ trip to Sandgem as any indicator. 

She watched as Nae and Phil began to walk towards Route 202 towards Jubilife City for a few moments, pondering a few things to herself before she shrugged and caught up with them.

 _No use wondering about it now,_ Mizu told herself as she began the long, and most likely agonizing road towards the official start of her own Pokemon journey.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's been a while but here it is. As usual if you wanna ask me something or just enthuse about the story feel free to comment. It lets me know what you all are thinking, and I love reading theories as far as where you think it'll go from here.
> 
> Getting to work on the next chapter, but take whatever deadlines I set for it with a grain of salt. I'm back on AO3 for who knows how long.
> 
> Until then,  
> Insidious.
> 
> (Song is MAKE A MOVE by Icon for Hire)


	5. Revelations

_Chapter 5_

_{Revelations}_

_I get by in a world with no conscience_  
_By shouting it out and being anonymous_  
_And the problem is/You’re just like me_  


“I don’t agree with this decision of yours, Irix.”

A clever-sounding male voice echoed in the dark halls of the castle, emanating from what could be supposed as the throne room itself. Statues of various legendary pokemon stood proudly on the sidelines, overshadowing the two men in the room. One, the man who had spoken, was dressed plainly, with a black t-shirt as well as pants and shoes of much the same color. He had shaggy, dark blue hair and piercing silver eyes, ones that never seemed to be approving no matter what mood the male was in.

“It was never yours to make, Leon,” the man named Irix responded. He sat lazily upon the throne, his head resting on his right fist as he regarded the man named Leon with almost unfeeling golden eyes. Irix was dressed in a far more regal form to Leon, but in much the same coloration. A black cloak was draped over Irix’s shoulders, and his shirt seemed to be padded with additional material so as to serve some function while making Irix seem a bigger man then he was. Wrapped around his arms were a pair of golden chains, each link large enough as to easily fit in Irix’s palm, each chain linking to the gold bracelets tightly clasped around the man’s wrists. A single canine poked out from the corner of his mouth as he watched anger flash across Leon’s face.

“You brought an Outworlder here for no reason, then?!” Leon asked defiantly. It took most all of his willpower to keep himself from shaking in rage. This wasn’t the first time Irix had done such a thing, but it was the first time that the Outworlder in question could actually have an effect on the world around them.

“I always have my reasons, Leon. Why else would Palkia have granted me this point in space, why else would Giratina grant it to me as my own dimension? Why would Arceus- the god of all of us- grant to me and my officers powers unlike those wielded by any of our kin? If I didn’t have my reasons, Leon, you wouldn’t be standing here as you do now.” Irix’s words were simple, powerful, and carried the same amount of regality and underlying arrogance that could be expected from a man who called himself ‘King’.

Leon grit his teeth. He couldn’t argue. The legendary Pokemon were indeed fickle creatures, as most gods undoubtedly were. To his knowledge Irix hadn’t done anything incredibly remarkable to be granted all of this, yet the fact it was still given to him had always been something the man had struggled to decipher. The powers Irix had mentioned were something else entirely. Leon’s closest guess was that Irix had been granted the ability to use the abilities of some Pokemon, as well as grant access to select types to a few of his officers. Leon was one such officer, and almost in mockery of his intellect Irix had granted the man access to Psychic type abilities. How this was possible Leon couldn’t begin to understand- no matter how much he tried. All he understood was that they worked, and that they were truly powerful.

“I guess so,” Leon growled out slowly, his irritation growing with the knowing smirk that crossed Irix’s face in response. Oh how Leon would’ve loved to be able to smack it off of that arrogant face, yet he knew doing so would most likely get himself killed. “I’ll be off, then. I have an Outworlder to manage.”

“As it should be, Leon. I await your report come tomorrow,” Irix responded, tapping his foot twice against the floor a moment after he finished speaking. Leon blinked, and found himself staring at the closed doors to the throne room, the massive stone slabs standing intimidatingly above him. He muttered to himself before turning and leaving. He had work to do, and he’d be damned if he didn’t get it done.

Nothing was worth suffering that kind of wrath.

 

“Hey, Mizu! C’mon!” 

Phil’s voice carried the short distance over to Mizu as she trudged along, almost dragging her feet by this point out of pure exhaustion. They’d been walking for hours on end with no sign of stopping, and at this point she felt as though she’d rather not have feet at all rather then take another step.

“Can’t we just take a break?” she groaned pathetically as she tried her hardest not to plant her face into the dirt road again. She’d managed to accomplish tripping over air, which told her that she probably wasn’t exactly used to her own body just yet. Nae had, of course, not walked a foot since they left Sandgem, opting to instead ride around on her Ponyta for much of the journey.

_Lucky bitch,_ Mizu thought spitefully as she watched Phil and Nae stop and wait for her at the top of a hill. Phil had his Pokemon riding on either one of his shoulders, and both of the bugs were rather slow on their own and would’ve been left far behind otherwise. _I’d be perfectly fine too if I had a fucking Ponyta to carry my ass around._

She heard Phil’s soft chuckle in response to her earlier statement. “It’s a just a bit longer, Mizu. There’s a spot up ahead that we can rest at,” he shouted over to her, pointing behind him to something just over the hill. Nae was smiling, which wasn’t exactly unusual, it was just the _way_ she was smiling. Something about it gave Mizu chills. It was a sort of knowing smirk, like Nae knew something Mizu didn’t, and was rather darkly amused by the knowledge of that.

It made Mizu give pause to wonder what the hell it was that Nae could be smiling about in such a way. 

It took a solid minute for Mizu to make the short-ish journey over to were Phil and Nae were, but she still didn’t see much on the other side of the hill. Just some more trees, more stupid dirt road, the same old long-ass fucking walk to the city outskirts just a few short mi-.

Waitaminute.

Wait a fucking minute.

_Holy shit that’s right,_ Mizu realized. _I completely forgot Route 202 is shorter then 201._ She facepalmed mentally at the thought. That meant they were only a few hours from Jubilife City, if that. It was a small miracle indeed, but it still didn’t help the fact that Mizu continued to want to cut off her feet- actually no. She didn’t want her legs as a whole anymore. That would be fantastic in her opinion. 

That way she could just force Phil to carry her around all the damn time.

“Cool,” Mizu responded dully. Nae looked at her as if to say ‘Seriously? What the fuck? How are you NOT excited?’ while Phil just covered up more laughter by clearing his throat. Kain and Zephyroth were, as usual, a few steps ahead of the group once they began walking again, and Mizu took the chance in proximity to hop up on Sana, aiming a challenging look at Nae in the process. 

Like hell was she going to walk the rest of this. They’d already spent one night out here, granted it was still shorter then the two she and Phil had spent going to Sandgem, but still. Her legs hurt, so she was going to utilize the most convenient source of mobility there, and it just so happened that it ended up being the Ponyta that had been not five feet away from her.

Anyone who wanted to argue could, for lack of better phrasing, kiss her ass.

And so they trekked for a few more hours. Phil made them stop a few more times so he could catch glimpses of the local Bug-type Pokemon in the area, and Nae occasionally made off-handed comments on how Mizu should really just get her own Pokemon to ride on, a statement Mizu made it a point to completely fucking ignore whenever possible.

Night had just nearly fallen when they started to see more obvious signs that they were entering the city. The dirt beneath their feet changed to stone, and the road became lined with fences and street lights. A few minutes passed and they found themselves inside the city itself, with the Pokemon center only a small block away for them to rest themselves and their Pokemon. Trainers and other individuals could be seen milling around, some going home from work and others just merely chatting amongst themselves.

Mizu could distantly see the very top of a building that she could only assume was a corporate headquarters. Her two best guesses were that it was either the TV Company that made itself at home in Jubilife, or that it was the HQ of the Poketch company that was ever-present in the game. She had a slight feeling that she was being watched as well, but she simply figured that it had to be because she’d never been in any sort of city like this before. In fact, just like Sandgem, Jubilife seemed many times larger in person then it had been in the games. There were a good number of skyscrapers and apartment complexes that she could see just from where she was standing, and a fair number of people were getting around on bikes.

She saw a group of students who were walking together from the direction of what Mizu could assume was the Trainer School, and she reminded herself that she’d need to visit it once she rested and didn’t feel like asking Nurse Joy for some cyanide.

Thankfully enough, it was Phil who suggested they get a room at the Center. 

They were greeted as they walked into the Pokemon Center with Mizu and Nae standing on opposing sides of the only male member of their group. Mizu faintly let her mind wander back to the anime series, but closed her eyes and shook her head slightly to bring herself back to reality as Phil gave a response to a question the girl hadn’t heard.

“I’d like to purchase a couple of rooms for the night,” he said with a smile. The phrase sounded almost practiced, although Mizu realized she probably shouldn’t have been surprised by that. He was a Bug Catcher after all, he probably wandered around all the time looking for creepy crawlies.

“Alright then, may I see your Trainer Cards?” the nurse responded, and in immediate reaction all three of them presumed to retrieve the aforementioned item. Mizu found hers in the backpack that had been packed for her when she first woke up in this world, and she took a moment to stare at the black and yellow design of it. She sneaked a glance at Phil and Nae’s as they handed them in, and noticed that they each had a more standard design then the lightning-lined one she possessed.

She didn’t think a whole lot about it until she handed it to the Nurse, who instantly snapped her gaze up to her with a smile. “You’re Volkner’s younger sister, correct?”

“Uh, yea?” Mizu responded questioningly, she’d figured it’d be decently obvious from the card, but hadn’t expected that it’d be a question she’d be asked. Honestly, it felt strange answering in the affirmative to such a question, as she didn’t have any siblings at all in the real world.

“He was here a few days ago and requested a couple of rooms on reserve should you need them. He’s already paid, so I’ll go ahead and just bring you the keys.” Joy bowed once to them before she turned and disappeared through a door marked ‘Staff’. At once, Mizu saw Phil and Nae slowly turn their gazes to them and just stare at her for the few moments it took Nurse Joy to retrieve the cards and return.

“Here you go,” Joy said kindly, holding the cards out to Mizu as she approached and accepted them. Mizu thanked her, and she directed Phil and Nae to follow her towards where they were supposedly staying the night as a request from Volkner himself. It took Mizu a hot minute to find the rooms, and it took her a few more seconds to find which way the cards went in to open them.

“Let’s see what’s behind Door Number One,” Mizu muttered to herself as she unlocked the first of the two rooms that had been rented out to them.

“Well, well. It took you long enough, dearie.”

A sickeningly sweet voice greeted them as the door swung open, and all at once the lights went out. Mizu could hear the shocked shouts of other Trainers as well as the rush of footsteps as employees ran to find the cause and fix it. However, she nor Nae or Phil could find it in themselves to move.

They were too scared and transfixed at the sight before them.

“Allow me to introduce myself before I make your lives hell,” the woman stated. Her dark hair almost blended in with the shadows behind her as she stepped from the darkness behind her. Her eyes seemed to glow red as the she slowly stroked the head of the Mightyena that had appeared with her. A gothic dress was draped over her figure, and the thin shape of a tattoo could be seen just on her left cheek, although neither of the three could make out what it was. “My name is Anu Nox-”

“-and I’m here to end your little journey.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> {Song at the top is Anonymous by Three Days Grace}
> 
> Well, here it is! Chapter 5.
> 
> A lot sooner then some of you may have expected. As always, feel free to drop some Kudos and/or comment if you so wish.
> 
> I'll see you all in the next chapter, of whatever it is I may post or update next.


	6. Outworlder

_Chapter 6_

_Outworlder_

_You wanna try to take me under_  
_I’ll never bow till I’m six feet under_  
_Listen to the sound of rolling thunder_  
_You can’t break me_  
_You’ll never take me down._

They couldn’t move. The air around them was frozen as Anu Nox raised her arm, the dull glint of metal reflected in the light given off from her eyes, and Mizu traced the outline of a pistol in the darkness. Her eyes widened in shock as the smirk on Anu’s face grew, and Mizu had the split-second thought that she was literally looking Death in the face.

Nae was the first to move a half-moment before the gun went off. The smaller girl took a step forward and to the side, her staff spinning in the air just in front of her as Anu fired. The sound of metal crashing against metal reverberated through the room as Nae halted her staff, a small dent in the frame smoking from where it had been hit with the bullet. Mizu couldn’t see the girl’s face, but had a good clue as to what it looked like just from the tone in her voice.

“Run. I’ll catch up,” Nae stated, the words cutting through the haze that had settled over both Phil and Mizu to jerk them back into reality.

“You’ll die! Like hell are we leaving you here!” Phil responded, cutting through the air with his right hand as he denied the order. Mizu found herself unable to do much other then watch, but was still able to see Anu staring at her. There was more panic outside the room after the gun went off, people screaming as they pushed to get out of the building.

“We’ll **all** die if you stay!” Nae said with far more force, turning her gaze to Phil and Mizu. Her eyes burned like coals in the darkness, but with more ferocity then what Anu had. If Nae wasn’t pissed right now, then Mizu really didn’t want to see what would happen when she finally flew off the handle.

“Phil, let’s go,” Mizu spoke softly, placing her hand on his arm to calm him as she motioned to the exit. She felt him pause for a moment as if to think on it before he relaxed and nodded. They’d just have to trust one another for now. “Nae, let us know where to meet up with you after you deal with her.”

Nae nodded, and Mizu and Phil made a break for the door with their Pokemon hot on their heels. When they broke out into the street, they found it just as dark as the interior of the Pokemon Center.

_Something must be wrong with the generators in the Power Plant here,_ the thought broke through into Mizu’s mind unbidden, but it felt as though she had every reason to know that such a thing would be the case. Mizu motioned to Phil. “Come on, we need to get the lights back on.”

“Shouldn’t we let the Officers handle that?” he objected. Mizu turned and saw fear on the man’s face. It didn’t exactly surprise her that he was scared. They were almost killed, after all, and here she was saying they should go and run into possibly yet more danger.

“They’ll be too busy dealing with Anu,” Mizu explained. “It could be hours before the lights come on if we don’t do something. Not only that, but we don’t know if she was alone or not.” Phil blinked a few times at her words, and Mizu paused as she tried to figure out where the Power Plant in the city would be. _If only I had a flying type Pokemon I could ask for a scout,_ she cursed herself softly before something nudged her left leg. She looked down to see Kain standing there, looking up at her with inquisitive eyes.

Of course. Electric-type Pokemon were naturally drawn to Power Plants, if the games were to be believed. She smiled down at Kain as she crouched to get closer to him.

“Hey, do you think you and Zeph could lead us to the Power Plant?” she asked, watching Kain as he paused as if to think about it for a moment before crying out to Zephyroth. The other Shinx glanced over, and it seemed as though some form of unspoken form of communication passed between them before they both took off down the street next to the Pokemon Center.

“Come on!” Mizu shouted to Phil, grabbing him by the wrist and half-dragging him along with her as she pursued her Pokemon through the darkness that had overcome Jubilife City. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Caterpie and Weedle clinging to their Trainer for dear life, and she made a mental note to apologize later should she have the time.

**\- J T R -**

By the time Kain and Zephyroth stopped, Mizu was once again debating on how quickly she could amputate her legs. She was exhausted, and had ended up releasing Phil somewhere down the line, so she had little clue of where he was at the moment. _No matter, I’ll meet back up with him and Nae after the lights come back on,_ she told herself as she walked behind her Pokemon onto the property the Power Plant rested on. 

It was easy enough to get inside once she convinced Kain to power the door for a few moments, and the Shinx traded off with its twin so the door wouldn’t close in his face.

Once inside, Mizu found herself wandering through rows of transformers and other electrical equipment, the residual electricity in the air causing the hair on her arms to stand on end. She sneaked through the building, slowly growing closer and closer to what she hoped was the solution to this blackout. After a few minutes she could hear the shuffle of feet and clanging metal.

_Someone’s up ahead?_ She found the question forming in her mind. So far the place had seemed empty, not a single soul to be found despite the thorough snooping she’d done. She heard a muffled shout before a faint thud, much like the one made when someone is kicked, accompanied by an equally muffled groan.

“Hey! Keep them quiet, dammit! Anu’s gonna have our heads if they manage to alert anyone outside.”

“Haha! What’re they gonna do? Run? It’d be funny to watch them try.” The sound of a gun loading punctuated the statement of the second of the two men, and Mizu pinpointed the sound to a small room near the back of the plant. As she silently approached, she could see blue light emanating from the opening to the room. The entrance was nothing more then an arch, a presumably low-cost attempt to divide the areas from one another.

_That must be the cause,_ Mizu deduced as she peeked out from behind a corner and into the room. It was fairly large, and housed a strange generator of some sort that sparked with blue electricity. Mounted on it was an oval device, a pulsing green indicator on the front with some sort of words above and below it. There were levers on either side of the contraption, presumably used to remove it after the operation or whatever was done. 

Inside the room she spotted two men clad in outfits that Mizu was fairly certain weren’t just popular fashion. They appeared to be black-and-red uniforms, comprising of a pair of black pants with a red stripe down the side, a white jacket with the same striping, and a black shirt that beheld a sort of dagger-like design on the lower right side. Both men wore a pair of red-rimmed goggles, and the one Mizu could see completely was working away at a computer set upon the lone desk inside the room.

Closer to her, hidden partially by the wall, Mizu could see what she could conclude were the workers of the plant, each one bound and gagged in a group in one of the corners. She could hear the second man fiddling with the gun he’d loaded earlier, and she cursed mentally as she lined herself back up with the wall she was leaning against.

_Shit… how am I supposed to deal with this?_ She thought, urging herself to think up some sort of clever plan. Try as she might, she couldn’t think of anything that’d work. She sighed softly before resting her head against the wall behind her, closing her eyes for a moment and tilting her head up to the ceiling.

The grasp of a cold hand on her mouth startled her into opening her eyes, and she almost shouted out in shock. Standing before her was the very image of her nightmares, it’s hellish smirk plastered onto her face as it seemed to beckon her with her eyes, whispering a plan to her that had just the right chance of working.

She blinked, and it was gone. She was in a cold sweat, and glanced down to see Kain and Zephyroth staring up at her with worried expressions. Of course they couldn’t see her delusions. She let out a shaky breath before turning herself around the corner, stepping out into the blue light and striding down the hallway.

She was able to fully step into the room before she was noticed, and she saw both of the uniformed men tense up significantly before she spoke.

“Hey, have either of you guys heard of **Thunderbolt?** ” 

The ensuing charge of high-voltage electricity from Kain and Zephyroth, who’d hidden themselves behind Mizu, was rather epically comical to say the least.

**\- J T R -**

Mizu knelt down next to the smoking body of one the men, inspecting his uniform for a few moments before she stood up and walked over to the generator. She’d freed the workers from their bonds after she’d been able to ascertain that she could see clearly, and was now in the process of fixing the blackout. It didn’t seem to be too terribly hard to do, the foreman said he’d seen the two men place the device on the generator through the security feed a half-second before the power went out, so reasonably removing the device would turn the power back on.

Mizu took a deep breath as she grasped the levers, testing different directions to see which way they would turn before finding a little give when she pulled them down towards the ground. Releasing her breath gradually, she pushed the levers down until they touched, feeling the device slowly lift off of the generator before falling to the ground out of her hands with a thud.

_Holy mother of hell that thing weighs a lot,_ she remarked to herself before wincing away from the generator as the lights in the building flared back to life, temporarily blinding her for a few moments as the workers started to cheer. When she was able to see again, Mizu smiled and accepted the many, many thanks given to her before making her way out of the building.

Phil and Nae were waiting for her when she emerged, with the former appearing a bit winded and the latter a tad worse for wear. Nae had a black eye and was scratched up in several places, but said she was fine despite all of that. 

“I see you managed to get the lights back on,” Nae observed simply, aiming a pleased smile at Mizu as she did so. “So, does that mean we can get some sleep now? I’m reaaaaally tired after dealing with that weird woman.” And in an instant the smaller witch-like girl was back to how she’d been when Mizu met her in Sandgem. She giggled softly before nodding.

“Yea, sleep sounds like a really good idea.”

**\- J T R -**

_“You’re not from here are you?”_

The voice entered Mizu’s mind as she found herself dreaming once more, her feet planted on the same bridge as the one she’d been standing on when she was near Lake Verity. She glanced around the scenery around her, seeing nothing more then the whitewashed forest and the small pond she was standing over.

The voice giggled.

_“You won’t see me that way, silly. Look down.”_

Mizu did so, and her eyes widened in shock. Hovering below the shoulder of her reflection was a small, pink mouse-like Pokemon. It’s large and kind blue eyes regarding her with curiosity. She recognized it instantly, and mouthed the name of the Pokemon in a mix of wonder and bewilderment.

“Mew.”

_“Hehe, see? I knew you’d be able to find me.”_

She couldn’t do much more then stare at the Legendary in wonder, trying to figure out just what it was she’d knocked her head on.

_“Don’t think on it too much-”_

She nearly jumped out of her skin. That name. Mew knew her name. Not the one she went by in this world, but the one she’d used in her own. It had called her by her first name, and Mizu found herself remembering how Colin had always refused to refer to her by anything but her last name: Porter.

“How…?” she started, but couldn’t find the right words to use.

_“We’ve been aware of your presence for a while now, ‘Mizu’. It’s partially our fault you’re here, after all.”_

‘We’. The word stuck in Mizu’s mind. Did that mean the other Legendaries were aware of her presence? Did that mean they were watching her? Arceus? Dialga? How many besides Mew were tracking her movements?

_“That remains to be seen, now doesn’t it? For now, I’m the only one watching.”_

As expected, Mew could read her mind.

“Why am I here?” Mizu spoke hesitantly. She briefly recalled the message she’d seen upon trying to hack the copy of Platinum she’d bought, but if this was a punishment she felt as though it could be executed far better.

_“Your playing god was a mere pretense. Our False Prophet brought you here of his own accord against our advisement.”_

False Prophet? Mizu narrowed her eyes. So there was someone in this world who believed they spoke for the Legendaries? That they spoke for gods of the Pokemon world?

“Wait, so if you didn’t want this why am I still here?”

_“That isn’t an easy question to answer… Perhaps it has something to do with what sleeps beneath the surface?”_

An extremely cryptic answer. Mizu stared down into the water, watching Mew for a few moments before to it looked to her right. She tried to follow the gaze, but only found herself staring at trees.

_“It’s time you woke up, Outworlder. Your journey is not near its end yet.”_

Mizu recognized the words as a goodbye, and despite how much she still wanted answered she nodded. She had a feeling she’d learn what she needed soon enough, she just had no clue when. “Will you speak with me again?”

_“Perhaps.”_

Mizu closed her eyes, and when she opened them again she saw the ceiling of the Pokemon Center above her, the name Mew had called her ringing in her mind.

_‘Outworlder’... is that what they’re calling me?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song is DOWN by Thousand Foot Krutch


End file.
